The Grape-\ine F'lea-beetle. 193 



Its Food-Plants. 



The natural food-plant of the grape-vine fiea-beetle in most 

 parts of the countr}^ is doubtless the wild grape, upon which it is 

 often found feeding in both the grub and beetle stages. Other 

 wild plants must serve as natural food for it in some parts of the 

 country; Mr. E. A. Schwarz has found the beetles "abundant 

 on various trees in the serai-tropical hammock of Florida, where 

 the species of Vitis do not occur." 



Food of the beetles. — The beetles have been found feeding on 

 various plants. In 1S56, Dr. Fitch recorded that "a young 

 plum tree in my yard had its leaves nearly all destroyed b}' this 

 insect, ever\- summer, for many years" in succession, and other 

 trees near this were more or lese injured ;" Britton reports a sim- 

 ilar case in Connecticut in 1897. They vere reported as feeding 

 on elm by Glover in 1863; in 1888, McMillan stated that in 

 Nebraska the beetles had done much injury to seedling apple, 

 pear, quince and plum trees b}' eating out the buds, often thus 

 destroying many grafts ; in 1892, Schwarz stated that he had 

 found the beetles in great numbers on Carphius (Blue or Water 

 Beech) in Maryland ; and they have been found working on the 

 fruit buds of the Dutchess of Oldenburg apple in Minnesota. 



Is alder its food-pla?it? — Most writers in discussing this flea-beetle have 

 quoted the black alder {Alniis serriilata ) as one of its food -plants. We 

 have traced this statement through the literature to a paper by Dr. Harris 

 published in 1854 ; in discussing the grape-vine flea-beetle, he states that 

 in a recent excursion to New Hampshire he found large numbers of the 

 beetles and grubs feeding on black alders. However, in Harris' Ento- 

 mological Correspondence we find practically the same account under the 

 name of Haiti ca alni Yi.'Axr. MSS.; the dates in the two accounts are the 

 same. Doubtless further study of specimens collected on the alder in 1854 

 convinced Dr. Harris that the}- were specifically distinct from the grape- 

 vine flea-beetle, and he gave them the above manuscript name ; this insect 

 is now well known as the alder flea-beetle {Haltica bimarginata vSay). 

 Hence, it is very doubtful if the black alder should be included among the 

 plants upon which the grape-vine flea-beetle, especially the grubs, feed. 



Food of the g7'ubs. — While the beetles are quite general feeders, 

 the grubs have been found on but few plants. Mo.st records 

 mention them as feeding only on the leaves of the grape. In 



